Chapter 937: The Strange Official Ship!
Under Li Qingmu’s proposal, Long Yue and Liu Ran’er became sworn sisters despite not being related by blood. This little girl’s temper really suited her, as they were both bold and daring individuals. After swearing sisterhood, their relationship grew even closer.
"Sister Yue’er, who exactly are you people? I saw my brother-in-law’s impressive martial arts skills, beating those ruffians without them fighting back. Can you ask him to teach me?"
Liu Ran’er clung to Long Yue’s arm, asking sweetly.
Long Yue gently flicked her nose with a finger: "You, better not. Practicing martial arts is very tiring, and besides, you’re past the age, your bones have stiffened, it’s hard to learn now."
"Really? I’m not looking to be as strong as him, just teach me a few moves for self-defense. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll protect you, sister," Liu Ran’er giggled and said.
"Your brother-in-law will protect me well. If anyone dares harm me, he can beat them into submission."
Liu Ran’er didn’t believe her and teased, "What about the current Emperor? Would he dare to fight him too?"
"Yes, what’s there not to dare? Besides, give the Emperor a hundred guts, he wouldn’t dare do anything to me."
These words reached Qi Jingyu walking ahead, who could only smile bitterly, thinking how could the Imperial Aunt be like this, saying everything to that little girl? Am I as the Emperor to have no dignity?
On another side, Fang Shijie was pestering Li Qingmu about martial arts, which annoyed Li Qingmu. But for the sake of nurturing talent for Qi Jingyu, he had no choice but to explain patiently.
Only Qi Jingyu was left alone, without anyone to talk to.
The five returned to Yunzhou City, found an inn to stay temporarily, planning to investigate the local situation first.
Yunzhou City is a prosperous area within the Great Zhou Territory, but it harbors numerous hidden issues. There is a canal here connected to five cities and twelve provinces in the Southeast, and it’s the starting point of the Cao Yun Pier, deeply intertwined with various interests.
This was the true starting point of Qi Jingyu’s undercover investigation plan. Once Yunzhou’s situation is understood, one can follow the flow downward, gaining insight into most of the Southeast.
Regarding the Xinan region, there’s Imperial Aunt’s grandfather stationed there, maintaining stability.
The inn they chose was near the pier, where one could see the boats coming and going on the canal just by opening the window. Qi Jingyu didn’t like sharing a room and requested one for himself.
Next were Li Qingmu and Long Yue, naturally the couple would stay together, while Fang Shijie and Liu Ran’er avoided cohabitation, each getting a separate room.
Standing by the window, an official ship with the Cao Yun Government Office’s flag caught Qi Jingyu’s attention. The ship was laden heavily, almost sinking close to the deck, seemingly at the mercy of waves from a gust of wind.
This was secondary. The key was that although the people onboard wore official uniforms with a "Bravery" insignia, they exuded a rogue Jianghu aura.
Five or six of them sat on the deck playing dice, drinking and laughing loudly, with dried blood on the Greatsword beside them. This raised Qi Jingyu’s suspicion, prompting him to board the ship for inspection.
Letting discipline slide on an official ship was one thing, but the sword being blood-stained suggested a recent murder?
Qi Jingyu jumped out of the window, glanced at the stone arch bridge ahead, sprinted, and successfully leapt onto the Cao Transport Official Boat from underneath the bridge.
The ship was large, and the soldiers onboard didn’t notice the outsider’s infiltration. The shouting from the prow deck continued piercingly as Qi Jingyu took out a dagger for covert entry to the ship’s interior.
Two guards were there, but indulging in food and drink blissfully, seemed unconcerned about their duties. Qi Jingyu sneaked in unnoticed.
Neatly stacked wooden crates filled the cabin, and Qi Jingyu pried open the top one with his dagger, discovering it was filled with refined iron powder.
This iron powder is directly useful for weapon forging, yet weapon forging wasn’t in the Southeast but near the Capital City at the Ministry of Industry’s weapons workshop. Why ship refined iron to the Southeast?
Qi Jingyu casually grabbed a handful of iron powder, placing it into a sachet, intending to return ashore for further investigation. However, one of the guards, fetching a wine jug, noticed him through the wood stair gaps.
The guard screamed in fright at Qi Jingyu’s sight, but Qi Jingyu swiftly choked him before he could cry out.
Yet with his neck constricted, the guard kicked around, knocking a wine jug to the floor, shattering loudly.
Wine spilled everywhere, its aroma spilling out. The other drunken guard queried, "What’s your problem? Drinking only half a jug made you like this? We’ll be on this ship over a month, don’t waste the wine."
He staggered forward, forcing Qi Jingyu to kill the guard he controlled with the dagger. But as the blade stabbed into the stomach, it’s blocked by something with a dull echo.
Hearing the sound, the other guard noticed the short guard under Qi Jingyu’s control struggle, alerting his companion.
The tall guard paused bewildered for two seconds, then hurriedly blew a bamboo whistle loudly!
The sharp whistle pierced through the deck, alarming those above. The group previously playing dice immediately rushed into the cabin, cornering Qi Jingyu inside.
These dozen men posed no challenge for Qi Jingyu. He quickly fought his way out, leaving only two alive.
The two survivors were the leaders onboard, kneeling, shivering, "Spare us, master, spare us!"
Perhaps Qi Jingyu’s previous spree terrified them, for they left a puddle of yellow liquid where they knelt, making Qi Jingyu frown.
He held a Greatsword to Big Beard’s throat, demanding, "Speak, where is this ship headed? Where did the iron powder come from?"
The iron powder wasn’t like market iron ore, but rather refined from ore, not available publicly, controlled by the Ministry of Industry.
Big Beard stammered, "I... I don’t know, we were just ordered to sail this ship to Hu Guang, someone there will handle it."
"Who ordered you?" Qi Jingyu frowned tightly, astonished at the court’s monopoly iron powder being embezzled. If such acts are unchecked, what’s left of court authority?
Unexpectedly, as Big Beard was about to speak, an arrow came from nowhere, piercing his throat. His choking sounds lingered briefly before collapsing motionless.